Secret Santa
by heartlandiansoisle
Summary: Lou decides it's time for a new tradition. Characters: Amy, Ty, Jack, Lisa, Lou, Peter, Tim, Georgie and Katie. No warnings, set between 8x18-9x01.
1. Chapter 1

The snow was falling outside the Heartland ranch house while the Fleming-Bartlett-Morris-Stillman clan was gathered around the dinner table to enjoy the goods the whole family had spent endless hours on these last few days.

Jack was master on making the turkey, Georgie had been assigned to prepare the mashed potatoes and Lou had taken out her best gravy recipe, while Amy had tried her take on the cranberry sauce. Lisa decided the table couldn't go without a roast beef, as Peter and Katie had been in charge of the pumpkin pie. Last but not least, Ty had taken on the task of creating raisin pudding, which was something he had never tried before, but he nevertheless enjoyed the challenge.

Tim, of course, had not put in any effort, but spent the whole time yapping and testing everyone's Christmas spirit while repeatedly asking if the dinner was ready yet. Casey had gone to spend time with her family, so it weighed on Tim and the rest of the family had decided to be understanding with him and his somewhat grumpy attitude even when it wasn't easy.

The Heartland house was usually very lively, with people coming and going, but this was one of the rare occasions when no one was busy or hurrying anywhere. One day where all of them gathered together, put their differences aside and really took time to enjoy the roasting fire of the hearth, Jack's guitar ballads and a game of cards while enjoying the ginger bread and hot chocolate.

It was Christmas.

"Mommy, can we open the presents, pleaseee?" Katie begged as the family was stuffing their bellies full of Christmas deserts. Amy, Ty, Jack, Lisa, Lou, Peter, Georgie and Tim all watched the youngest member of the family in her red Christmas dress and smiled fondly.

The little girl had not been interested in the raisin pudding or the pumpkin pie, so when she was excused from the table, she of course found her way to the beautifully decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the living room and the carefully wrapped presents underneath it.

"Well, I guess we could", as Lou could no longer resist the baby blue eyes of her youngest daughter. Katie had been asking about the gifts the whole day, begging and whining, but Lou had remained strict and told her it was not time for them yet - until now.

The mother of two asked everyone to leave their deserts be for a while so they could receive the presents "the Secret Santa" had gotten them this year.

It was a new tradition, something Lou was hoping could turn into an annual thing for the generations to come. She didn't like the idea of Christmas turning into a materialistic holiday, because that wasn't what it was supposed to be about.

But since no presents felt a little too drastic for a family that still had young kids, Lou had decided that each member of the family would be assigned a person buy for, by drawing a name from a hat, to whom they would anonymously give a gift. That way memories were made and fun could still be had.

"Okay, so who gets the first one?" Georgie asked. "How about… Katie?" she prolonged the guessing game, knowing that the little girl couldn't hold back her enthusiasm.

"Yes, yes!" Katie jumped up and down, clapping her hands together in delight.

"Okay, so which one is for Katie-Kat?" said Peter as he went to rummage through the presents. He then found a square shaped box, wrapped by someone who had appreciation for horse stickers and glittery things. "This says Katie", said the father as he set it back down and continued to look through the presents.

"That's me, Daddy!" she said as amused Peter reached down to pick up the present again and handed the gift to his daughter whose eyes widened as she saw the beautiful present.

"What is it?" Katie asked.

"I don't know. You have to open it", Peter laughed.

Georgie's dimples showed as she tried to hold back her smile. She had drawn Katie and for the older sister, the task had been easy. For someone who spent hours playing with the little girl, she knew Katie's interest in My Little Ponies and Georgie had decided to spent her Secret Santa money on buying the pony that Katie was still missing.

Katie ripped open the wrapping and exposed the pink box with the rainbow decorations and stars.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Katie shouted immediately as she recognized her present.

"Flutter-what…?" Tim frowned trying to see what his granddaughter was holding. He saw a yellow pony with a pink mane and shook his head. "What? They call that a horse?"

"It's a pony, Grandpa!" Katie corrected him, throwing everyone into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, a pony. Well, that makes all the difference…" Tim said grumpily, but was secretly a little amused by Katie's notion.

"Who's next?" Peter asked.

"How about Georgie?" Lou suggested. She thought it was better for the girls to get their presents first, because their attention span was shorter and the older people weren't as concerned about the gifts they were getting.

"Okay!" Georgie said impatiently, coming closer to the Christmas tree. The rest of the family watched as Peter tried to locate the present assigned to Georgie.

Amy, standing next to her newly wedded husband, turned to whisper something in his ear. Ty's grip around her shoulder tightened as he pressed his wife closer.

"It's from me", Amy told Ty.

"You mean Santa's not real?" Ty asked, acting like he was surprised.

"Santa's not what?" Katie immediately picked up on the word. Amy and Ty turned toward her in horror, wondering if they had been the ones to ruin the innocence of her Christmas.

"Santa's _not here_ ", Ty quickly said, hoping that Katie would believe that she had heard wrong. Charmed by her new toy pony, Katie accepted the explanation and Ty sighed out of relief and a bit of pride as he had escaped the close call with a satisfying performance.

"Great, you almost ruined it for her", Amy scolded in a playful manner and then giggled a little. Ty laughed too and leaned his forehead against Amy's blonde hair.

Meanwhile, George had unwrapped a big white box and was now wondering what was inside it. She placed it on the couch and opened the lid, then seeing a beautiful white cowboy hat.

"Oh my gosh, this is amazing!" Georgie said, immediately putting it on her head. "I love it! Thanks, Secret Santa!" she looked around, wondering who had given her this amazing hat.

Amy was pleased to see her niece's happiness. Georgie's smile had been absent for a while, and since her parents were going through a separation, this Christmas could very well be their last one together. If Amy was in any way able to bring Georgie happiness through her passion of riding horses and looking the part, then the hat had been worth every penny she had spent on it.

"That looks really good on you", Lisa commented, making Georgie wonder if Lisa had been her Secret Santa. The girl was still smiling from ear to ear, when Lou decided it was time for Lisa to have her present.

"Okay, let's see", Lisa received an envelope from Lou and was unknowingly dealing with her own Secret Santa. Lou really hoped that she had bought her the kind of gift Lisa would appreciate, since as one of the wealthiest woman of Hudson she had pretty much everything she could need.

Lisa opened the envelope and pulled out a pair of tickets to theater to see a play that had been highly acclaimed.

"I've been meaning to see this!" she exclaimed, bringing her eyes to Jack, hoping the second ticket would be enough to convince him to come along. Jack had always been very hesitant in participating to these types of events, even the polo club felt "too fancy" to him, so Lisa had sneaking suspicion he'd find a way to decline.

Jack noticed the suggestive look on Lisa's face and wondered how to turn down the woman as gently as he could. To him theater sounded like a perfectly good way to put himself into a sleep.

"I, uh…" Jack stumbled with his words.

"If he doesn't go, I will!" Jack smiled as he had been saved by the bell by Lou. "I hear that's amazing!" she continued.

"Okay, you're on!" Lisa said, laughing, and for once feeling relieved that she didn't have to convince (or force) Jack to do something that he didn't want to do. No matter the company, Lisa would still be able to see this play and even if she would have loved to share it with Jack, she didn't mind Lou's offer either. They both loved culture and having intellectual conversations about the themes and metaphors, while simultaneously having some quality step-grandmother-granddaughter bonding time.

"Time for the next one", Peter decided. "How about… Jack?" he suggested.

"Well, that is fine by me", Jack said as Peter handed him the small present. He didn't spend time putting up a show of wondering what it was, but went straight to unwrapping it. When Jack opened the box and pulled out a gorgeous leather belt, Lisa immediately took notice how similar it was to the ones he already had.

"Well, whoever got you that one really knows your taste", Lisa had to give it to his Secret Santa.

"I know. Who better to know me than me", Jack said and smiled.

"Wait a minute…" Lou stopped him. "You got _yourself_ for Secret Santa?"

"I did indeed", Jack confirmed. Half of the family laughed, but Lisa and Lou sighed in confusion.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lisa asked.

"Why would I? At least I know I would get exactly the kind of present I would want", Jack said and made his wife hum and slap him gently on the chest.

"Typical…" Lisa commented apologetically. Lou shook her head a little, but eventually found the whole twist of events amusing.

"Okay, moving on", Lou decided. "Next up… Dad."


	2. Chapter 2

The wrapping of Tim's present was modest even though it was clearly wrapped with love in mind. It wasn't hard to guess who it was from; there was at least three brightly colored bows and child's handwriting on it, but in case Tim had any doubt about it, Katie let him and everyone know when the man was about to open the gift.

"It's from me, Grandpa!"

"Really? Nice work with the wrapping", Tim praised her like any other adult who knew how to not break a kid's heart would.

Even though Tim's immediate thought was that the gift looked like it was wrapped in a hurry, he realized that Katie had put time and effort into it, and for a kid her age, giving a present was something serious. She did not have experience at this like adults did, but she was still trying her best to become better at it and practiced her skills with every gift given.

And as the grumpiness of Tim's demeanor softened, his grandfatherly feelings over took him.

When he finally unveiled a framed photo of him and Katie, taken last summer, mounted on his horse, Champ, his heart melted and he had hard time not getting choked up. Katie had painted the frame a warm shade of violet and she had decorated the corners using small sea shells and macaroni which she had painted gold. On the top of the frame it read "GRANDPA" with a minor spelling error and on the bottom, there was a tiny pink heart with Katie's name on it.

"Do you like it?" Katie asked anxiously.

Tim tried his best not to shed a tear as he cleared his throat shamefully as everyone else waited for his response. Despite his best efforts to act like he was in control, the whole family could see he was moved by his grandchild's gift.

"It's perfect. Absolutely perfect. – I'm gonna put this on my nightstand", Tim promised as he scooped her up in his arms. Katie giggled and hugged her grandfather lovingly. Tim hid his face into the girl's fair hair and held her close like he was never going to let her go.

Lou crossed her hands over her heart, awing, once again realizing that spending Christmas with his granddaughters was not something Tim had expected to experience, even just a few years ago.

Heck, even spending time with his family was something of a stretch in his mind back then.

But now, Tim had finally learned to embrace his role as a grandfather and despite acting like a jerk most of the time toward everyone, he was never mean to Katie or Georgie - at least not intentionally.

"How about we move on?" Jack suggested when he saw that his ex-son-in-law was in need of hiding from the spotlight.

"I think Peter's present might just be waiting for him right there", Lisa hinted not-so-subtlety and winked at the man, giving him a clear indication that she was his Secret Santa and eager to see what he thought of his present.

"Well then. Better open it", Peter replied, smiling, taking a sophisticated looking gift bag from the remaining presents after reading his name on it. He glided a long box out and it didn't even need unwrapping because there was a plastic window in the heart of the present. Lisa had bought Peter a quality tie with a golden pin on it. "Wow, this is great", he commented sincerely, admiring the tie for a while before giving Lisa a nod of approval.

"It goes well with your eyes", Lisa had to add.

She loved giving gifts and even though she hardly spent time with Peter these days, she was still the godmother of his child and had a bond to him despite it looking like he and Lou were going their separate ways.

"The Santa sure thinks about everything…" Jack commented, feeling amused about how Lisa looked for ways to spoil every person in the family as best as she could. Birthdays, Christmases or some other special occasions, she had it covered (sometimes she didn't even need a reason, she just went for it). It was something she loved doing and seeing people's face lighting up was the best present Lisa could ever ask for herself.

"She sure does…" Lisa quipped.

"Maybe Lou's should be next", Amy suggested because she liked to think that it was natural for Lou to follow Peter. She knew that this wasn't an easy time for her sister, and since she had recently just gotten married herself, Amy couldn't help but still believe that there was love left and Lou and Peter still had a chance. That's why she was always trying to find ways to pair Lou and Peter up, if only for them to get a chance to realize that that was how they belonged - together.

"Alright", Lou said looking for her gift. It wasn't hard to find since there was only three gifts left. She shook it carefully, feeling a childish impulse to guess what was in it, and as Amy watched Lou, she noticed how deeply Peter was gazing at her as well.

Amy had a pretty good guess who Lou's Secret Santa was…

"What…?" Lou said, feeling confused as she pulled out a thermos mug. Was this one of Tim's practical, somewhat thoughtful gifts he had decided to get her because she owned a diner?

"A spill proof mug, to make world a safer place, and it keeps your coffee warm, too", Peter said as he helped her to understand the sentimental value of his given gift.

Back in the day, Lou and Peter had met in front of Maggie's and she had accidentally spilled coffee all over his shirt. So the next time they had met, Peter had made a comment about Lou's spill proof mug that was making the world a safer place because now Lou had no way to spill her coffee all over unsuspecting people.

Lou sighed and then smiled as she felt the same butterflies she had felt back on that day at the diner, just by looking into her then-future-husband's eyes.

"I can't believe you remembered…" Lou replied.

"Of course I did. I remember everything", Peter said.

Amy didn't know what was really going on, but from the look on her sister's face, she could tell that this mug held some kind of importance in Lou and Peter's story. These were the type of small, yet big, things couple's shared together and probably made the separation all the more painful when one didn't want to lose those memories together and just move on without giving them another thought.

"Your gift still awaits", Ty noted when Lou and Peter kept giving each other longing glances as the rest of the world disappeared to them. Amy woke up from her own thoughts and looked at Ty, then looking under the tree. There was a small box along with a plastic bag under it.

"Do I have to guess which one it is…?" Amy asked, raising her eyebrows, hoping that the one wrapped in a plastic bag wasn't for her or Ty would never hear the end of it…

"Amy, please. You don't think I would give you a present wrapped in that", Ty said, sighing as he realized the one in a plastic was for him. They then walked to the tree together, Ty taking the one that looked like it had been found in a dumpster and Amy taking the one that was in a long, lean box.

Amy felt giddy as she opened her present as she knew already it was from Ty and he had always been very thoughtful when it came to giving gifts. As Amy removed the wrappings, she found a jewelry box underneath. Based on the shape of it, she knew that it wasn't a ring, and since she had just recently added a new one on her finger, she wasn't expecting it to be one for that reason either. She now had all the rings she would need.

 _Maybe a pair of earrings, a necklace perhaps,_ Amy guessed as she sat the wrapping aside and eyed the box thoughtfully.

Opening the lid, Amy saw a beautiful, silver necklace on a silky bed. The jewelry had a tiny horseshoe at the end of the chain and a silver star was caught between the points of the shoe.

"Oh, Ty… It's beautiful…" Amy sighed and Ty was pleased by her reaction.

"I saw it and I knew you'd have to have it, even if I wasn't going to be your Secret Santa", Ty explained. Amy took it out and put the the box away, feeling the urge to start wearing the necklace right now.

"I love it, thank you". She adjusted it around her neck and Ty helped her with the lock. After Ty adjusted her hair and pecked her on the cheek, Amy started fiddling with the horseshoe between her fingers, imagining it on herself. "Seriously, Ty. I love it", Amy said again and gave Ty a kiss.

"I'm glad you like it", Ty said and smiled.

"What about your gift?" Georgie asked Ty when his present was still unwrapped. "It's the last one."

The young man looked at the plastic bag and then let his eyes scan the crowd, already guessing who was responsible for this gift. If he had calculated things right, the only one who had not been a Secret Santa yet was Tim, and based on the way the old cowboy looked at him - uncomfortably -, it didn't take much effort to put two and two together.

"What's in here…" Ty said as he unrolled the bag, pulling out a CD. For a second he was genuinely wondering if Tim had gotten him an album from some classic rock band, but when he saw the title, he wondered why he had been optimistic even for a second. "Isn't this…?" he let the rest of the sentence drop.

"Yeah. You liked that, didn't you?" Tim said, putting Katie down.

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice, did I…?" Ty huffed.

"What is it?" Amy asked, frowning and leaning in to see the album cover.

"It's this CD we listened to while we were traveling to Pike River last summer", Tim said, grinning a little. "I thought it might have some sentimental value to you. You know, good times", he said and made a movement that made him look "desperately hip". He stopped doing that soon enough because his bad shoulder started acting up again. "Ouch…"

Ty didn't know how to respond to Tim's comment. On one hand he was wondering if Tim was really that thick and didn't realize he had been joking when he had said it was a good CD to listen on a loop for five hours, but then some part of him realized that if what Tim was saying was true, this might have actually been his way to bond with him. And in some strange way, it was almost touching, because those moments were few and far between.

"You forgot the whole Secret Santa thing, didn't you…?" Jack mumbled to the man next to him and Tim turned red when Jack caught him in his lie. To Jack, this was no news - this was typical Tim. "Took that CD out of your glove department and wrapped it in a plastic bag so you wouldn't be empty-handed?" he continued his explanation like a true Sherlock Holmes.

"Yeah…" Tim finally admitted. "Okay, I forgot", he added defensively.

"Dad!" Amy and Lou scolded in one voice, and Ty huffed again, but this time in a much more amused tone.

He couldn't believe he had actually married into this crazy family - and the weirdest thing was that he couldn't think of a better one to be a part of.


End file.
